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Jeweler’s Intuition Leads to Purchase of Historic Mansion

Couple transforms iconic landmark into a jewelry store.

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Katelynne and Jayson Eslick had spent years planning to build their dream jewelry store in Glendive, MT. COVID slowed everything down and hiked building costs. Meanwhile, Katelynne drove past a local landmark she’d long admired, the 1907 Krug Mansion, and decided it would be perfect for expanding her business, Sugar Plum Fine Jewelry. Each room could be its own themed boutique. When Jayson considered it, he realized she was right. In fact, Katelynne’s intuition had been spot on at least once before, when she convinced Jayson he could leave his stressful job in law enforcement and apprentice with her father as a goldsmith. In 2023, the mansion opened as Sugar Plum Fine Jewelry, just as Katelynne had envisioned. It is a 2024 America’s Coolest Store.

CAREER CHANGE. You just go down the road of life and figure out what makes sense when you come to those crossroads. Being a goldsmith was never on my radar, but it came naturally.

BENEFITS. I enjoy fixing people’s broken pieces or restoring old pieces they want to look new again. Also, I get to come to work with my wife every day.

LOFTY INSPIRATION. I recently introduced the Montana Sky Collection, inspired by photos I have taken of sunset, sunrise, and of the sky at other times of the day. I’ve used Montana sapphires to create rings that show the same color variations I see in the sky.

TEAMWORK. Our goal for customer experience always comes down to one word: “Luxury.” We approach every customer interaction by asking, “How can we make this customer feel like the most important person in the room?”

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Q&A with Katelynne and Jayson Eslick, owners of Sugar Plum Fine Jewelry

By Eileen McClelland

INSTORE: How did you come to own a historic mansion?

Katelynne: “When we first opened almost 11 years ago, the jeweler who had been here for like 65 years was closing so we opened in the same location. Then six years ago we bought this piece of land and were going to build. Then through Covid, it wasn’t progressing. The price of everything to build increased so much. And then we found out there were gas tanks underneath the property, which would require a full environmental cleanup. We wondered, “Does it even make sense anymore?”

“There’s this mansion that was half a block away from the location where we were going to build. We were driving by and I looked at Jason and said `I’m going to buy the mansion.’ He asked, `Is it even for sale?’ I said, `No, but I want you to understand I’m going to buy the mansion. Then I called my dad, who is among many other things, in real estate, and said, I’m going to buy the mansion. You need to call them and tell them they’re selling to me.’ They were not planning on selling, but 23 days later, we had a buy/sell agreement.”

INSTORE: Jayson, what was your reaction to Katelynne’s vision?

“We were driving on the highway when she told me that. I didn’t pull over, but I had to pay more attention. Asking myself, does it make sense? It had been listed for sale three or four years prior, so we had an idea of the price they would ask. She explained the vision to me, and it made sense to me as well. We’ve always loved the building. It is beautiful. We had a pretty tough three weeks after she brought that up because it was hard to think about anything else. It was an anxious three weeks, but when we got the buy-sell, we knew it would be perfect.”

INSTORE: What do your customers think?

Katelynne: “The most fun thing to me is people are opening up about their initial feelings. They’ll say, `We didn’t know how you would make it work, but you walk in, and right away, you can see this is the right place. You made it work.”

“I had a vision. I could just see how it was going to work. Part of the reason it works so well is we’re the only jewelry store in a 60-mile radius. We offer something for everyone. A silver collection, Southwest turquoise, custom work, fine jewelry, a diamond room. Part of the reason it works is because it has a dining room, a parlor, a kitchen; and we can break it up into little themed boutiques. It just works. We come in every day and say, Oh my gosh! Is this real?”

INSTORE: Katelynne, how did working in your family store as a child influence your life and career path?

“I feel like, on paper, it makes so much sense that I own a jewelry store. But I feel like I fell into it almost backward. I worked in my family store when I was little, but the store closed when I was still pretty young. Dad stayed in jewelry, taking groups to Antwerp. I went to college and considered nursing. I never thought I could do jewelry as a profession, but I started hand-making jewelry as a hobby and did that for a couple of years. We had kids, and I had a full-time job, and I remember coming home, and I was just so overwhelmed that I was crying. I didn’t know how to work full-time, raise children and get custom jewelry pieces done. There was not enough time in the day. We realized if we took the day care costs out and I quit my full time job, we could make jewelry work. Then the business grew itself and suddenly I needed a store. Then all of a sudden, the store was too small, and we were buying a building.”

How did your background in a family jewelry store help?

It gave me the confidence to do that. And I made really good connections early on with suppliers. Dad always said he can make the intro, but it was my job to foster the relationship.

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INSTORE: Jayson, how did you make the career leap into jewelry?

Jayson: I’d been in law enforcement before, which was a high-stress career. I got to the point where my wife was making more money than me, which is totally cool, and I loved it, trust me. But I wondered, how can we advance that and make it make sense for the family. She needs help. Her father, who’s been a goldsmith for 40 years, ended up moving here to Glendive, and he started working in the store. I started training under him, learning to be a goldsmith. It came naturally and it’s just worked out really well. The business just took off. It’s a cool thing and it happened all so quickly, too, it feels like. Being the goldsmith I enjoy fixing people’s broken pieces or restoring old pieces they want to look new again. Also I get to come to work with my wife every day. I have my separate studio. She has her office. I don’t mind barging in if I need to talk to her, but we stay pretty busy during the day.

It was never on my radar. You just kind of go down the road of life and figure out what makes sense when you come to those crossroads. Maybe it’s time for a career change. It was a natural thing it seemed like for me.

Katelyn: When we first talked about it, he was nervous about the idea. He said `I’m not that creative.’ But I told him that to fix things, to make things right again, you don’t necessarily need to be creative in the way I am creative. But I knew he would be good. He’s very particular about things. When it became clear he was good at it and it was a natural thing, I had to say, you know, `I told you so.’

INSTORE: Katelyne, What inspires you when it comes to jewelry design?

Katelyn: A lot of times inspiration is from the client. If they want a Western design ring, they’re going to get a Western design ring. A lot of times designs show up in my mind fully formed. And I recently introduced the Montana sky collection. This is very specifically inspired by actual photos I have taken of sunsets, sunrise, different times of day. And then I’ve used Montana sapphires to create a ring that has those colors and shows the same color variations you see in the sky. I’m working on some pendants and earrings to go with it. Sometimes, it’s architecture. I do save a lot of photos of architecture, of interesting shapes .

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SPONSORED VIDEO

After 139 Years, A Family Legacy Finds Its Perfect Exit With Wilkerson.

When third-generation jeweler Sam Sipe and his wife Laura decided to close Indianapolis’ historic J.C. Sipe Jewelers, they turned to Wilkerson to handle their retirement sale. “The conditions were right,” Sam explains of their decision to close the 139-year-old business. Wilkerson managed the entire going-out-of-business sale process, from marketing strategy to sales floor operations. “Our goal was to convert our paid inventory into retirement funds,” notes Sam. “The results exceeded expectations.” The Sipes’ advice for jewelers considering retirement? “Contact Wilkerson,” Laura says. “They’ll help you transition into retirement with confidence and financial security.”

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